Visualization of cyclical patterns in metric data

ABSTRACT

In a method for visualizing cyclical patterns in metric data, receiving, by one or more processors, data relating to a computer environment. The method further includes creating, by one or more processors, a visualization, wherein the visualization presents the data in a first format. The method further includes causing, by one or more processors, the visualization to be displayed in a user interface. The method further includes receiving, by one or more processors, an indication of a user interaction in the user interface, wherein the user interaction indicates an alternative visualization of the data, wherein the alternative visualization presents the data in a second format that includes a fragment of the received data. The method further includes creating, by one or more processors, the alternative visualization.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of performancemonitoring applications, and more particularly to the visualization ofpatterns found in metric data.

Performance monitoring programs ensure that goals are consistently beingmet in an effective and efficient manner by monitoring and measuringrelevant performance metrics. Workflow is monitored to detect, diagnose,remedy, and report on application performance issues to ensure thatapplication performance meets or exceeds the expectations of end-usersand businesses. Performance monitoring programs can identify bottlenecksand quickly identify the root cause of a performance issue.

A sparkline is a very small line chart, typically drawn without axes orcoordinates. Sparklines present the general shape of the variation(typically over time) in some measurement, such as temperature or stockmarket price, in a simple and highly condensed way. Sparklines are smallenough to be embedded in text. Several sparklines may be groupedtogether as elements of a small multiple, a series of similar graphs orcharts using the same scale and axes for easy comparison. Whereas atypical chart is designed to show as much data as possible and isseparate from the text, sparklines are designed to show data in anefficient, condensed manner in order to quickly convey general patternsin the data.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present invention disclose a method for visualizingcyclical patterns in metric data. The method includes receiving, by oneor more processors, data relating to a computer environment. The methodfurther includes creating, by one or more processors, a visualization,wherein the visualization presents the data in a first format. Themethod further includes causing, by one or more processors, thevisualization to be displayed in a user interface. The method furtherincludes receiving, by one or more processors, an indication of a userinteraction in the user interface, wherein the user interactionindicates an alternative visualization of the data, wherein thealternative visualization presents the data in a second format thatincludes a fragment of the received data. The method further includescreating, by one or more processors, the alternative visualization.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a functional block diagram illustrating a computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of operational steps of a performancemonitoring program for displaying data in alternate views, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary screenshot view generated using aperformance monitoring program via a user interface, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary screenshot view generated using aperformance monitoring program via a user interface, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of components of the server and clientcomputing device of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention recognize that comparing commonpatterns of time series data for a given cyclical period of time (e.g.,a specific hour of each day of every week) can be difficult for a user,especially if the user desires specific information. If a user “zoomsout” (e.g., expands the view of a graph), the user will typically loseresolution of metric details. Embodiments of the present invention allowfor quick and easy visualization of time-series data without losingresolution to sparkline chart(s). Additionally, embodiments of thepresent invention enable the user to view the data in an alternateformat. Some embodiments of the present invention may include one, ormore, of the following features, characteristics, and/or advantages: (i)quick identification of anomalous data, (ii) identification andcomparison of common patterns in a cyclical period of time, (iii)allowing the user to view sparklines in a calendar view, (iv) allowingthe user to select a sparkline of interest and locate other occurrencesin a data set with the same or similar sparklines, (v) enhancingreadability of sparkline charts, (vi) allowing for the exclusion ofperiods of time and data the user is not interested in, and (vii)allowing the user the ability to manipulate the sparklines in any wayover time.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe Figures.

FIG. 1 depicts a diagram of computing environment 10 in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 provides an illustrationof one embodiment and does not imply any limitations with regard to theenvironments in which different embodiments may be implemented.

In the depicted embodiment, computing environment 10 includes server 30and client computing device 40 interconnected over network 20. Network20 may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such asthe Internet, any combination thereof, or any combination of connectionsand protocols that will support communications between server 30 andclient computing device 40 in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. Network 20 may include wired, wireless, or fiber opticconnections. Computing environment 10 may include additional computingdevices, servers, or other devices not shown.

Server 30 may be a management server, a web server, or any otherelectronic device or computing environment capable of processingcomputer readable program instructions, and receiving and sending data.In some embodiments, server 30 may be a laptop computer, tabletcomputer, notebook computer, personal computer (PC), a desktop computer,or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating withclient computing device 40 via network 20. In other embodiments, server30 may represent a server computing environment utilizing multiplecomputers as a server system, such as in a cloud computing environment.In another embodiment, server 30 represents a computing environmentutilizing clustered computers and components to act as a single pool ofseamless resources. In an embodiment, server 30 contains server program50. Server 30 may include components as depicted and described infurther detail with respect to FIG. 5.

Server program 50 operates as a generic program on server 30. In anembodiment, server program 50 sends performance data to repository 70.In another embodiment, server program 50 sends performance data toperformance monitoring program 80. In other embodiments, server program50 sends performance data to repository 70 and performance monitoringprogram 80 simultaneously. In an embodiment, server program 50automatically sends performance data to repository 70 and/or performancemonitoring program 80. In another embodiment, server program 50 receivesa request from performance monitoring program 80 to send performancedata to performance monitoring program 80. In an embodiment, serverprogram resides on server 30. In another embodiment, server program 50resides on another server or another computing device, provided serverprogram 50 has access to repository 70 and performance monitoringprogram 80.

Client computing device 40 may be a desktop computer, laptop computer,tablet computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), or smart phone. Ingeneral, client computing device 40 may be any electronic device orcomputing system capable of executing computer readable programinstructions, and communicating with server 30 over network 20. In anembodiment, client computing device 40 contains user interface (UI) 60,repository 70, and performance monitoring program 80. Client computingdevice 40 may include components, as depicted and described in furtherdetail with respect to FIG. 5.

UI 60 operates on client computing device 40 to visualize content, suchas menus and icons, and to allow a user to interact with an applicationaccessible to client computing device 40. In an embodiment, UI 60comprises an interface to performance monitoring program 80. In anembodiment, UI 60 displays data received from performance monitoringprogram 80. In another embodiment, UI 60 sends input to performancemonitoring program 80. In other embodiments, UI 60 accepts input fromusers of client computing device 40. In an embodiment, UI 60 comprisesone or more interfaces, such as an operating system interface and/orapplication interfaces. In an embodiment, a user (through input via UI60) of client computing device 40 communicates with performancemonitoring program 80. In other embodiments, a user (through input viaUI 60) of client computing device 40 utilizes performance monitoringprogram 80 to communicate with server program 50 via network 20.

Repository 70 may be written to, read from, and accessed by serverprogram 50 and/or performance monitoring program 80. In an embodiment,repository 70 receives data, such as metadata. In an embodiment,repository 70 receives data about generated alarms from performancemonitoring program 80. In another embodiment, repository 70 receivesdata from server program 50. Metadata (or “metacontent”) is defined asdata providing information about one or more aspects of other data. Forexample, a photograph (or “photo”) may contain metadata that indicatesthe size of the photo, the model of camera used to take the photo, thedate the photo was taken, and any other information that describes thephoto. In an embodiment, metadata about the alarm may include, but isnot limited to, a timestamp of when the alarm was generated, thetimeframe the alarm was generated, and the metrics that identified theissue that generated the alarm. The metadata of an alarm may include thefollowing: a timestamp, a resource name (e.g., web_server_1), a metricname (e.g., Percent_CPU_Usage), a value (e.g., 99), and a Severity(e.g., High).

In an embodiment, repository 70 automatically stores data received fromserver program 50 and/or performance monitoring program 80. For example,performance monitoring program 80 generates metadata for an alarm thatwent off. Repository 70 automatically receives and stores the metadatagenerated by performance monitoring program 80. In other embodiments, auser (through input via UI 60) manually stores data generated by serverprogram 50 and/or performance monitoring program 80 to repository 70. Insome embodiments, repository 70 resides on client computing device 40.In other embodiments, repository 70 may reside on another server, oranother computing device, provided that repository 70 is accessible toserver program 50 and performance monitoring program 80.

Performance monitoring program 80 operates to monitor metrics of systemsand applications on server 30. In an embodiment, performance monitoringprogram 80 receives and monitors data stored in repository 70. Inanother embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 receives andmonitors data from server program 50. In an embodiment, performancemonitoring program 80 observes time-based patterns of behavior ofsystems and applications running on server 30 (e.g., over an extendedperiod of time). For example, performance monitoring program 80 monitorsthe power consumption of server 30. While monitoring the powerconsumption, performance monitoring program 80 records time-based logsof the power consumption of server 30. In an embodiment, performancemonitoring program 80 stores recorded observations to repository 70.

In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 creates alternateviews of the generated data. The views generated by performancemonitoring program 80 may include a calendar view with a sparklineand/or a series of sparklines. In an embodiment, each “cell” in acalendar view represents a day of the week and/or month. Thesparkline(s) in a cell represents a specific metric(s) over a definedperiod of time. In an embodiment, in a series of sparklines, thesparklines are arranged from left to right. For example, performancemonitoring program 80 displays the power consumption of each Mondayduring the month of March as a series of sparklines. The first sparklinerepresents the power consumption on the first Monday of March. Thefollowing sparkline represent the second Monday of the month and soforth.

In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 highlights (throughinput via UI 60) patterns similar to a sought pattern, if it exists inthe historical data. For example, a user sees a particular sparklinepattern on the first Monday of June. Performance monitoring program 80receives input from the user (through input via UI 60) to highlight anyother days that have a pattern similar to, or the same as, the patterngenerated for the first Monday of June. In an embodiment, performancemonitoring program 80 identifies time-based behavior that is abnormal incomparison to past behavior. In an embodiment, performance monitoringprogram 80 allows a user to manipulate the sparklines in any way thatthe user wants in order to allow the user to make comparisons betweensparklines.

In some embodiments, performance monitoring program 80 resides on clientcomputing device 40. In other embodiments, performance monitoringprogram 80 may reside on another server, or another computing device,provided that performance monitoring program 80 is accessible to serverprogram 50 and performance monitoring program 80 has access torepository 70.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of operational steps 200 of performancemonitoring program 80, executing within the computing environment ofFIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.Performance monitoring program 80 operates to receive data aboutgenerated alarms. Performance monitoring program 80 displays the data inthe format of a calendar view and/or a series of sparklines or othergraphical representation of data. Upon receiving input from a user,performance monitoring program 80 converts the existing visual formatinto an alternate visual format. Additionally, performance monitoringprogram 80 highlights abnormal patterns and can identify cyclic patternsin the historical data, if the patterns exist in the historical data.

In an embodiment, initially, a user of client computing device 40,through input via UI 60, opens performance monitoring program 80. Theuser, through UI 60 and performance monitoring program 80, monitors theperformance of server 30. The user inputs the format of thevisualizations the user wants to receive the data in.

In step 210, performance monitoring program 80 receives data. In anembodiment, performance monitoring program 80 receives data to identifyand detect cyclic patterns and anomalous algorithms. Performancemonitoring program 80 can receive data from server program 50 and/orrepository 70. In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80identifies potential issues and generates metadata for alarms that aregenerated by anomalous algorithms. For example, performance monitoringprogram 80 monitors the power consumption of server 30. When performancemonitoring program 80 detects an anomalous algorithm generated by serverprogram 50, performance monitoring program 80 generates metadata about agenerated alarm to notify users of anomalous activity. The metadataincludes, but is not limited to, a timestamp of when an alarm isgenerated, the timeframe the alarm is generated, and the metricsinvolved in the generated alarm. The metrics involved may include, butare not limited to, web server response time, server memory usage, androuter traffic load (in/out total bytes). In an embodiment, thetimeframe is an increment of time pre-selected by the user. In anotherembodiment, the timeframe is an increment of time selected by the userafter the alarm is generated. In other embodiments, the timeframe is adefault increment of time. For example, performance monitoring program80 generates metadata for a generated alarm. Performance monitoringprogram 80 generates a timestamp at 6:05 PM to identify to the user thatthe anomaly was detected at 6:05 PM. Performance monitoring program 80lists Monday, from 6-8 PM, as the timeframe the anomaly was detected. Inan embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 generates time seriesdata for a generated alarm. The time series data is associated with therespective metrics over a period of time (e.g., a calendar month). In anembodiment, performance monitoring program 80 automatically storesgenerated alarm metadata to repository 70. In an embodiment, performancemonitoring program 80 generates metadata for the data that performancemonitoring program 80 receives that was generated by server program 50.

In step 220, performance monitoring program 80 creates visualizations.In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 createsvisualizations in a calendar view with sparklines. In an embodiment, thecalendar view includes cells that represent days (one cell representsone day) and within each cell, a sparkline showing the values of one ormore metric(s) on that day. For example, performance monitoring program80 creates a calendar view for the month of March that includessparklines for each day in March. Each day illustrates the metric datawithin each respective 24-hour period, using sparklines for thevisualization of the metric data. In other embodiments, the calendarview can include any graphical depiction of data, such as a bar chart.

It should be noted that in certain embodiments, the data used byperformance monitoring program 80 to create sparklines can also be usedto create traditional line charts. For example, where sparklines may bebeneficial in visualizing data in a condensed and streamlined way, aline chart may be helpful in visualizing the same data in a moredetailed and granular way. Further, in some cases, sparklines may becombined with a traditional line chart to form a hybrid line chart thatincludes sparklines arranged in a horizontal or vertical series. Forexample, in an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 generates afragmented line chart view with sparklines for the power consumption ofserver 30 on Mondays from 6 PM to 8 PM for the month of March. In otherwords, instead of including sparklines for every day in March,performance monitoring program 80 generates a view that includes asubset of sparklines that meet a selected metric (specifically, Mondaysfrom 6 PM to 8 PM for the month of March). Performance monitoringprogram 80 arranges the sparklines in a series starting with thesparkline that represents the selected metric on the first Monday of themonth and ending with the sparkline representing the selected metric onthe last Monday of the month. The user sees each sparkline generated forthe selected metric for each Monday during the month of March. Inanother embodiment, the series of sparklines is arranged vertically.

In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 identifies, byhighlighting, cyclic patterns that occur in the historical data of themetric data. In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80searches the historical data to identify cyclic patterns. In anotherembodiment, performance monitoring program 80 searches a selectedtimeframe (e.g., past year) to identify cyclic patterns. For example,performance monitoring program 80 identifies three days during the monthof March that match a particular pattern. In an embodiment, performancemonitoring program 80 highlights anomalous patterns. For example,performance monitoring program 80 highlights the days in the month ofMarch that show anomalous activity. In other embodiments, performancemonitoring program 80 simultaneously highlights cyclic patterns andanomalous patterns. In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80utilizes different colored sparklines to differentiate between normalpatterns, cyclic patterns, and anomalous patterns. For example,performance monitoring program 80 uses blue sparklines to identifynormal patterns, green sparklines to identify cyclic sparklines, and redsparklines to identify anomalous patterns. In an embodiment, performancemonitoring program 80 stores the generated view to repository 70.

In step 230, performance monitoring program 80 causes the generatedvisualizations to be displayed. In an embodiment, performance monitoringprogram 80 displays the generated visualization(s) to the user via UI60. In an embodiment, the generated visualization(s) is rendered on anHTML canvas using JavaScript (or suitable WebKit alternative) thatsupports a wide variety of interactions, including, for example, touchvia event listeners. (Note: the terms “JavaScript” and “WebKit” may besubject to trademark rights in various jurisdictions throughout theworld and are used here only in reference to the products or servicesproperly denominated by the marks to the extent that such trademarkrights may exist.)

In step 240, performance monitoring program 80 receives an indication ofuser interaction. In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80receives an indication of user interaction (through input via UI 60)that the user wants performance monitoring program 80 to display data inan alternate view. Some examples of such user interactions may include,for example: (i) the user using a computer mouse connected to clientcomputing device 40 to click on a button for displaying an alternateview; (ii) the user speaking the words, “please display an alternateview,” into a microphone connected to client computing device 40; and/or(iii) the user using a touchscreen of UI 60 to select a group ofsparklines that the user wishes to display in an alternate view. Itshould be noted, however, that these examples are not meant to belimiting, and that the user indication may occur in a wide variety ofways known (or yet to be known) in the art.

In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 generates a calendarview visualization. Upon the user viewing the visualization, performancemonitoring program 80 receives input from the user to generate a seriesof sparklines to include in the calendar view visualization. In anotherembodiment, performance monitoring program 80 receives input from theuser to change a visualization of a calendar view with sparklines into aline chart view (with or without sparklines). In yet another embodiment,performance monitoring program 80 receives input from the user to changea visualization of series of sparklines in a line chart view into acalendar view with sparklines. In other embodiments, performancemonitoring program 80 can change other types of graphs and charts intoany alternate graph or chart a user selects for the data to be shown in.

In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 receives input fromthe user to highlight time-repeated queries of a specific period oftime. In an embodiment, performance monitoring program 80 receives inputfrom the user to convert the highlighted portions of the visualizationinto a different visualization format, omitting the non-highlightedportions of the visualization. For example, performance monitoringprogram 80 displays a calendar view of sparklines for the month ofMarch. Performance monitoring program 80 receives input from the user tohighlight the data generated by performance monitoring program 80 onMondays from 8 AM-9 AM during the month of March. Afterward, performancemonitoring program 80 receives input from the user to convert thehighlighted portions of the calendar view into a series of sparklines,omitting the non-highlighted data. Performance monitoring program 80generates a series of sparklines visualization that only contains datahighlighted in the calendar view.

In step 250, performance monitoring program 80 displays the data in analternate view to the user. In an embodiment, performance monitoringprogram 80 displays the alternate view, via UI 60, to the user. The usercan interact with the alternate view via UI 60. For example, in certainembodiments, the original visualization created in step 220 can beassociated with the alternate view via “brushing and linking.” “Brushingand linking” refers to an association where two or more different typesof view of the same data are linked, such that a change in therepresentation of one view affects the representation in the otherview(s). For example, a set of data is shown in two differentrepresentations, a line chart and a pie chart. Changes made to the dataset are reflected in both representations of the data set. The same datais changed or altered, but the visualizations are represented indifferent formats. Processing ends when the user completes task(s).

FIG. 3 is a depiction of performance monitoring program 80 convertingthe highlighted portions of a calendar view into a series of sparklines,omitting the non-highlighted data. Performance monitoring program 80displays calendar view 300 for the month of May 2010 for a user.Performance monitoring program 80 receives input from the user tohighlight all “Monday” cells for the month of May 2010. Performancemonitoring program 80 highlights “Monday” column 305 in calendar view300. Performance monitoring program 80 generates dots inside of thecells of “Monday” column 305 to highlight the cells. After highlighting“Monday” column 305, performance monitoring program 80 receives inputfrom the user to identify anomalous metric activity recorded during Mayof 2010. Performance monitoring program 80 generates bold sparklines forcell 310 and cell 315 to indicate cell 310 and cell 315 are anomaloussparklines. After displaying the data in calendar view 300 for the user,performance monitoring program 80 receives input from the user toconvert the highlighted cells, “Monday” column 305, into a series ofsparklines, omitting the non-highlighted cells. Performance monitoringprogram 80 converts and displays “Monday” column 305 into sparklineseries 350, using ellipsis 320 between each sparkline to indicateomitted data. The non-highlighted cells from calendar view 300 are thedata that is omitted from sparkline series 350 that is displayed to theuser. Performance monitoring program 80 displays sparkline 325 as a boldsparkline to indicate that sparkline 325 is an anomalous sparkline insparkline series 350.

FIG. 4 is a depiction of performance monitoring program 80 identifyingcyclic patterns. Performance monitoring program 80 displays sparklineseries 400 for a user. Performance monitoring program 80 receives inputfrom the user (through input via UI 60) to convert sparkline series 400into calendar view 450 and to highlight sparklines that match the samepattern of sparkline 405. Performance monitoring program 80 displays themonth of May 2010 in calendar view 450. Performance monitoring program80 highlights all sparklines in calendar view 450 (column 410, cell 415,and cell 420) that match the pattern of sparkline 405.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of components of server 30 and clientcomputing device 40, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be appreciated that FIG. 5 provides only anillustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made.

Server 30 and client computing device 40 may each include communicationsfabric 502, which provides communications between cache 516, memory 506,persistent storage 508, communications unit 510, and input/output (I/O)interface(s) 512. Communications fabric 502 can be implemented with anyarchitecture designed for passing data and/or control informationbetween processors (such as microprocessors, communications and networkprocessors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any otherhardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric502 can be implemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch.

Memory 506 and persistent storage 508 are computer readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 506 includes random access memory(RAM). In general, memory 506 can include any suitable volatile ornon-volatile computer readable storage media. Cache 516 is a fast memorythat enhances the performance of computer processor(s) 504 by holdingrecently accessed data, and data near accessed data, from memory 506.

Server program 50 may be stored in persistent storage 508 of server 30and in memory 506 of server 30 for execution by one or more of therespective computer processors 504 via cache 516. User interface (UI)60, repository 70, and performance monitoring program 80 may each bestored in persistent storage 508 of client computing device 40 and inmemory 506 of client computing device 40 for execution by one or more ofthe respective computer processors 504 via cache 516. In an embodiment,persistent storage 508 includes a magnetic hard disk drive.Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistentstorage 508 can include a solid state hard drive, a semiconductorstorage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer readable storagemedia that is capable of storing program instructions or digitalinformation.

The media used by persistent storage 508 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 508.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage508.

Communications unit 510, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices. In these examples,communications unit 510 includes one or more network interface cards.Communications unit 510 may provide communications through the use ofeither or both physical and wireless communications links. Serverprogram 50 may be downloaded to persistent storage 508 of server 30through communications unit 510 of server 30. UI 60, repository 70, andperformance monitoring program 80 may be downloaded to persistentstorage 508 of client computing device 40 through communications unit510 of client computing device 40.

I/O interface(s) 512 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to server 30 or client computing device40. For example, I/O interface 512 may provide a connection to externaldevices 518 such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or someother suitable input device. External devices 518 can also includeportable computer readable storage media such as, for example, thumbdrives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Softwareand data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, e.g.,server program 50, can be stored on such portable computer readablestorage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage 508 of server 30via I/O interface(s) 512 of server 30. I/O interface(s) 512 also connectto a display 520. Software and data used to practice embodiments of thepresent invention, e.g., UI 60, repository 70, and performancemonitoring program 80, can be stored on such portable computer readablestorage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage 508 of clientcomputing device 40 via I/O interface(s) 512 of client computing device40. I/O interface(s) 512 also connect to a display 520.

Display 520 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be,for example, a computer monitor.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles ofthe embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement overtechnologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for visualizing cyclical patterns inmetric data, the method comprising: receiving, by one or moreprocessors, data relating to a computer environment; creating, by one ormore processors, a visualization, wherein the visualization presents thedata in a first format; causing, by one or more processors, thevisualization to be displayed in a user interface; receiving, by one ormore processors, an indication of a user interaction in the userinterface, wherein the user interaction indicates an alternativevisualization for the data, wherein the alternative visualizationpresents the data in a second format that includes a fragment of thereceived data; and creating, by one or more processors, the alternativevisualization, wherein the alternative visualization displayed in theuser interface utilizes a sparkline series to represent the datarelating to the computer environment, and wherein in response to asparkline user input, a cyclic pattern is identified and the sparklineseries is converted into a calendar view that matches the identifiedcyclic pattern of the sparkline user input.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the data includes metadata of an alarm that is generated in thecomputer environment.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the metadataincludes one or more of: a timestamp when the alarm is generated, atimeframe the alarm is generated, and metrics involved in the generatedalarm.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fragment includes only datarelating to a specific timeframe.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thefragment includes only data relating to a common metric value.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the visualization displayed in the userinterface utilizes sparklines to represent the data relating to thecomputer environment.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the userinteraction is part of a brushing and linking process.
 8. A computerprogram product for visualizing cyclical patterns in metric data, thecomputer program product comprising: one or more computer readablestorage media; and program instructions stored on the one or morecomputer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising:program instructions to receive data relating to a computer environment;program instructions to create a visualization, wherein thevisualization presents the data in a first format; program instructionsto cause the visualization to be displayed in a user interface; programinstructions to receive an indication of a user interaction in the userinterface, wherein the user interaction indicates an alternativevisualization of the data, wherein the alternative visualizationpresents the data in a second format that includes a fragment of thereceived data; and program instructions to create alternativevisualization, wherein the alternative visualization displayed in theuser interface utilizes a sparkline series to represent the datarelating to the computer environment, and wherein in response to asparkline user input, a cyclic pattern is identified and the sparklineseries is converted into a calendar view that matches the identifiedcyclic pattern of the sparkline user input.
 9. The computer programproduct of claim 8, wherein the data includes metadata of an alarm thatis generated in the computer environment.
 10. The computer programproduct of claim 9, wherein the metadata includes one or more of: atimestamp when the alarm is generated, a timeframe the alarm isgenerated, and metrics involved in the generated alarm.
 11. The computerprogram product of claim 8, wherein the fragment includes only datarelating to a specific timeframe.
 12. The computer program product ofclaim 8, wherein the fragment includes only data relating to a commonmetric value.
 13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein thevisualization displayed in the user interface utilizes sparklines torepresent the data relating to the computer environment.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 8, wherein the user interaction ispart of a brushing and linking process.
 15. A computer system forvisualizing cyclical patterns in metric data, the computer systemcomprising: one or more computer processors; one or more computerreadable storage media; and program instructions, stored on the computerreadable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or moreprocessors, the program instructions comprising: program instructions toreceive data relating to a computer environment; program instructions tocreate a visualization, wherein the visualization presents the data in afirst format; program instructions to cause the visualization to bedisplayed in a user interface; program instructions to receive anindication of a user interaction in the user interface, wherein the userinteraction indicates an alternative visualization of the data, whereinthe alternative visualization presents the data in a second format thatincludes a fragment of the received data; and program instructions tocreate alternative visualization, wherein the alternative visualizationdisplayed in the user interface utilizes a sparkline series to representthe data relating to the computer environment, and wherein in responseto a sparkline user input, a cyclic pattern is identified and thesparkline series is converted into a calendar view that matches theidentified cyclic pattern of the sparkline user input.
 16. The computersystem of claim 15, wherein the data includes metadata of an alarm thatis generated in the computer environment.
 17. The computer system ofclaim 16, wherein the metadata includes one or more of: a timestamp whenthe alarm is generated, a timeframe the alarm is generated, and metricsinvolved in the generated alarm.
 18. The computer system of claim 15,wherein the fragment includes only data relating to a specifictimeframe.
 19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the fragmentincludes only data relating to a common metric value.
 20. The computersystem of claim 15, wherein the visualization displayed in the userinterface utilizes sparklines to represent the data relating to thecomputer environment.